The Huntsville Stars, who have been sold to Ken Young and a group of investors with the purpose of moving the Southern League franchise to Biloxi next season, have a lease with the city of Huntsville for the use of Joe W. Davis Stadium through the 2015.

Young has indicated he does not plan to operate in Huntsville, though Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle told AL.com there is "still no word" from Young and minority partner Miles Prentice, the former owner who has been charged with operating the Huntsville club this year, on the team's intentions.

Southern League president Lori Webb told AL.com today that there is no contingency schedule in place involving Huntsville in 2015; the league's schedule was released last week.

That means the final regular-season pro baseball game in Huntsville could be the Sept. 1 home finale, though the Stars have already qualified for the Southern League playoffs.

City leaders remain confident another Southern League franchise could be brought into the city in a few years, potentially at a downtown stadium. Potential owners have reached out to Battle and other local investors have made inquiries. Pat O'Connor, the president of Minor League Baseball, will be a clearinghouse of sorts for interested parties.

Asked what his plans were because of the indefinite construction plan, Young told GulfLive.com "Obviously, that's a good question, one I don't have an answer for right now, primarily because I remain hopeful the stadium will be done faster than that."

The Biloxi team could swap home games with other teams or simply lose them. Suggestions have been floated that it play some games on campus at Southern Mississippi, 70 miles away in Hattiesburg.

"Certainly all of the teams in the league have said they would work with us and be accommodating," Young said, "but there's a lot to that puzzle and there are no commitments."

It is not unprecedented that teams don't play a full complement of home games. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team in the Class AAA International League played its entire 2012 season on the road because of stadium construction and the Sacramento team played its first 40 games on the road because of construction delays in 1999.

The Biloxi franchise faces a $10,000 fine from the Southern League for every missed home game.

On July 9, the city was presented its construction bids, the lowest of which was $5 million over the city's budget for the ballpark. Biloxi has committed $21 million to the project from a bond issue and has $15 million pledged from Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, funds the state received from its settlement with BP after the Deepwater Horizon incident.

Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway suggested after the bids were received that the city might need to return to "square one" with its plan.

Next Tuesday, according to the Mississippi Business Journal, the Biloxi City Council will meet regarding a contract offers by W.G. Yates & Sons to build the ballpark – to be named MGN Park at Beau Rivage -- for $29.13 million. Other money has already been spent and committed in terms of infrastructure, site clearing and planning.

City of Biloxi Chief administrative officer David Nichols said that $2 million of the $9 million that has already been spent will be reimbursed by FEMA as it has been categorized as post-Katrina infrastructure work.

"There's been a great deal of work to bring this price in line with the available funding, and we're comfortable with moving forward," Nichols said. "One thing that we have done is made it clear to the contractor that we don't have any flexibility in this contract. We're ready to get started."